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Admissions

The research further revealed that one-third of parents expressed only one school preference and only 28 per cent stated the maximum number of preferences allowed by their local authority.

Using Ofsted ratings as a proxy, the analysis showed the majority of parents (52 per cent) applied to a good school as their top preference, with a further 30 per cent nominating an outstanding school.

But one in six parents (17 per cent) had a most preferred school that was rated as less than good by Ofsted.